Premature baby's story told through blog

Marshall Stout was born three months before his due date, making him a "micro-preemie" baby.

“Marshall really was teaching us lessons that we wouldn’t have learned had we not tried to take his perspective on things as one who was just recently born and who is still so close to his Heavenly Father.”

Tyler Stout

“Both my aunt and uncle emailed us separately and commented how Marshall has been a blessing to their family because they’ve had the opportunity to pray for him,” he said. “They said it brought their family together during Christmastime and helped them not think about themselves as much.”

The blog posts are detailed and descriptive.

“In many ways it really was Marshall’s voice,” Tyler Stout said. “Marshall really was teaching us lessons that we wouldn’t have learned had we not tried to take his perspective on things as one who was just recently born and who is still so close to his Heavenly Father.”

On March 4, the day Marshall Stout passed away, Mandy wrote a post from his perspective titled “Home.”

The post describes Marshall’s experience as he passes from his earthly home to his heavenly home, and how he truly treasured his time on earth and hoped for comfort for his family.

An excerpt from the final blog post says, “Time is a strange thing. Earth-life is but the blink of an eye. Trust me, I know. But when you’re there when things seem their bleakest, time seems to slow down, but the good times just fly by and sometimes you sure wish you could change the speed, and all your loved ones could be back together again.”

According to the Stouts, the blog was therapeutic for them to write. Although it was the most challenging experience the two had ever gone through, they relied on their faith to heal them.

“We believe that Marshall fulfilled his mission which was to make manifest the works and miracles of God,” Tyler Stout said. “The most important lesson I learned personally was that I needed to trust in God to take care of my son. When I decided to put my son in God’s hands, that’s when I was able to manage the worry. Had I not done that, I would have been in much worse shape seeing Marshall pass away.”

Megan Marsden is an intern with the Deseret News writing for the Faith & Family section. She is currently a junior at BYU-Idaho studying communication. The views of the writer do not reflect the views of BYU-Idaho.

Popular Comments

There are some great young parents in this world. Their ability to see
blessings in challenge, strength in helplessness and wisdom in confessing the
hand of the Lord in all things, just amazes me.

Best Wishes to
them and their

3:24 p.m. March 27, 2013

Top comment

MapleDon

Springville, UT

God bless Mandy and Tyler. This is a very touching story.

10:40 p.m. March 26, 2013

Top comment

colagirl62

Monroe, GA

I would like to say a prayer for little Marshall and I know God will heal him
and make him strong for the family. He is so cute and he is in good hands with
God. I pray that he will get strong and be able to go home soon. Jesus is
watching over him
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